Re: NBA: NEW YORK (4-9) at BOSTON (11-2)
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><st1
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lacename><strong style=""><span style="color: black">4-9 </span>[/b]</st1
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</span>[/b]<strong style=""><span style="color: black"> @ </span>[/b]<strong style=""><span style="color: black">
</span>[/b]<strong style=""><span style="color: black"> 11-2<o
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<st1:date year="2007" day="21" month="11">Thursday, November 29, 2007</st1:date> – <st1:time minute="30" hour="19">8:00 pm ET</st1:time>
TD BankNorth Garden (Boston, MA<st1
lace><st1:state></st1:state></st1
lace>)
Game aired on TNT</p>
In the midst of a four-game in six-night swing, the Celtics will play their first game of a back-to-back tonight at home vs. the brewing rivalry of the New York Knicks. Throughout the past few years, the Celtics and Knicks have gotten chippy with each other in each meeting, even in this year’s preseason. After the Celtics wiped the floor with <st1:state><st1
lace>New York</st1
lace></st1:state> and blew them out by 40 points at the TD BankNorth Garden on October 17, the Knicks came back roughly two weeks later to defeat the C’s at <st1
lace><st1
lacename>Madison</st1
lacename> <st1
lacename>Square</st1
lacename> <st1
lacetype>Garden</st1
lacetype></st1
lace>. Throughout that game, tension was driven. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett got into it with Jamal Crawford after he fouled Ray Allen in transition, both Tony Allen and Eddie House were ready to rumble with Nate Robinson, and Eddy Curry got into yet another verbal feud with Kendrick Perkins. While fighting isn’t encouraged, it sure is great to see the early signs of a little rivalry cooking up. Whether you condone trash talk or not, things like this is good for basketball.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Knicks haven’t gotten off the start they had hoped, however. At 4-9, the record doesn’t even tell you the half of all the problems the organization is having. Guys are continuing to play selfish ball, both Randolph and Curry are still out of shape, and Stephon Marbury absolutely lost his cool when he learned Isiah Thomas would be benching him for a couple games. Rumor has it, he punches were thrown. Knicks fans are booing them at MSG. Reggie Miller, who picked <st1:state><st1
lace>New York</st1
lace></st1:state> as his early sleeper team, recently called the Knicks “a joke.” After all the anticipation this summer of how talented this team is with Zach Randolph on board, the Knicks are in the same position – maybe worse.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With that said, let’s hope the Celtics stomp the laughing stock of the NBA tonight. The Celtics can’t let the Knicks walk around thinking that can beat them. After the Knicks won the October 22 preseason matchup, they got awful cocky in their post-game interviews (Quentin Richardson in particular). They now have their chance to prove themselves – in a regular season matchup on national television (TNT). <st1:city><st1
lace>Boston</st1
lace></st1:city> remains undefeated on their home floor in this young season, so Isiah Thomas’ club will certainly have their work cut out for them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It won’t be an easy task for the Boston Celtics, who lost their second game of the season in an overtime matchup in <st1:city><st1
lace>Cleveland</st1
lace></st1:city> this past Tuesday, however. Even with all the internal issues and unmanageable egos, the New York Knicks are not to be taken lightly. Say what you want about them, make your jokes – this team has a ton of talent. You’ve got two beasts inside in Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry, one of the most talented guards in the league in Stephon Marbury, a perimeter scorer that can light it up for 40 in Jamal Crawford, a sharpshooter in Quentin Richardson, Mr. Intangibles in David Lee, and energy guys off the bench in Nate Robinson and Renaldo Balkman. That’s a lot of talent, and a lot to handle. No NBA team should be taken lightly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Celtics are 11-2, but they certainly haven’t been as picture perfect as they were earlier in the season. The offense often becomes stagnant on multiple occasions in each game, the energy level hasn’t been even half as high as it was two weeks ago, and the team is making too many mental mistakes. With <st1:city><st1
lace>Orlando</st1
lace></st1:city> right on <st1:city><st1
lace>Boston</st1
lace></st1:city>’s tail at 13-3, the Celtics (both players and Doc Rivers) better make adjustments ASAP if they want to keep the seniority rights in the Eastern Conference. We know they are capable of it, now it’s about going out there and doing it. What better way to get back up on that horse with a win against the Knicks?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Projected Starters<o
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">C[/b] Eddy Curry / Kendrick Perkins
<strong style="">PF[/b] Zach Randolph / Kevin Garnett
<strong style="">SF[/b] Quentin Richardson / Paul Pierce
<strong style="">SG[/b] Jamal Crawford / Ray Allen
<strong style="">PG[/b] Stephon Marbury / Rajon Rondo</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Key Matchup: [/b]Eddy Curry vs. Kendrick Perkins<strong style=""><o
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>[/b]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Plain and simple, Kendrick Perkins needs to make sure he stays out of foul trouble and gives Garnett a hand in defending the inside. Zach Randolph or Eddy Curry is enough to handle by their lonesome, but KG was forced to defend both of them all game long in the last Celtics/Knicks preseason meeting. That can’t happen tonight. Perk needs to play smart basketball and make sure Eddy Curry doesn’t make him look foolish in the post.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Celtics X-Factor:[/b] Big Men</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again, one of the biggest reasons the Celtics lost the October 22 preseason matchup in <st1:state><st1
lace>New York</st1
lace></st1:state> was because both Kendrick Perkins and Scot Pollard were unavailable (nursing injuries). Kevin Garnett was forced to defend the likes of Zach Randolph or Eddy Curry every second he was on the floor, and it noticeably drained a lot of stamina out of his body by the time the fourth quarter started. He wasn’t as effective offensively at the end of the game as he was in the beginning because he needed to put all of his energy into putting a body on two of the thickest big men in the Eastern Conference. Perk needs to make sure he stays out of foul trouble tonight, Pollard needs to give the team serviceable minutes, and even Glen “Big Baby” Davis could give the C’s a lift with his size.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Injury Report<o
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">NYK[/b] – Jerome James (recovering from foot surgery)
<strong style="">BOS –[/b] Tony Allen (bruised right thigh – day-to-day)</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Celtics Keys to the Game<o
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<ul type="disc" style="margin-top: 0in;">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">The Play of the Bigs
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Energy (where has it been?)
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Ball Movement
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Limit Turnovers
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Attack, Don’t Settle
[/list]
erk will play around 25 minutes, KG will be stuck guarding the Curry and we'll get eaten on the boards.We'll still win.
